Straight Talk Blog
Ted Rubin
Respect My Time… and Good Nature
Come on folks... when you reach out and ask for someone's time, pay attention for the reply. #Respect Can't tell you how many times people reach out, I reply that I have time that day or the next (trying to do my part to help others and #BeGoodToPeople), and I hear...
My Latest Book is Live… The Age of Influence: Selling to the Digitally Connected Customer
What is influence, exactly? And what does having influence mean in today’s world? According to Merriam-Webster, influence is: The power to change or affect someone or something, or the power to cause changes without directly forcing them to happen. There is influence...
Return On Relationship (#RonR) and Humanization of Business ~via @Ivan_Temelkov
On Episode 013 of The Human Business Narrative podcast I got a chance to sit down with none other than Mr. Ted Rubin. The guy behind the infamous #RonR social media hashtag, Be Good To People trend, and former Seth Godin employee. ~Ivan Temelkov PODCAST EPISODE...
Brand vs Reputation
The difference between your brand and your reputation can be easy to miss because so many marketing writers use the terms interchangeably. The fact that the terms really are similar in many ways does little to help with the confusion. Both concepts have a major...
Self-Help “Gurus” and “Life” Coaches Preaching… NEVER Be Satisfied
I see all these self-help “gurus” and “life” coaches preaching... NEVER be satisfied, reach for more. If you're not uncomfortable, you're not growing. If you're not doing more, being more, trying more... you need to. Funny thing is, I'm... STRIVING "TO BE" SATISFIED...
I Was Asked… How Do I Increase Blog Traffic and SEO
My answer... For me it is not about tools, but about strategy, and execution. Here are a few things to consider in addition to just posting articles and working the SEO angle… User-Friendly Navigation: Keeping your blog easy to navigate with intuitive category labels...
Growth Hacking…
"Growth hacking refers to a set of marketing experiments that lead to growth of a business. So it happens that growth hacking is usually about social media, viral marketing and other relatively novel marketing methods. And none of these methods can be done without...
Take Time to “Think”
I read a LinkedIn post recently about how important it is to take action and not dwell or think about things too much (been seeing posts like this too much lately). That while acting you will figure it all out, and that too much time thinking will just get in the way....
Strong Suggestion with Regard to LinkedIn and Facebook Tagging…
Don't tag all the people you would like to pay attention to your post, and "like" it (unless of course they are specifically mentioned for a valid contextual reason)... it smells of desperation for likes and views. Instead, if you feel the need to request support for...
The Word "Friend"
The word "Friend" may have been generally devalued by Facebook brilliantly taking "ownership" of the word, but its all about how YOU use it, and the reputation you build. Always keep in mind... Your brand is what you do, your Reputation is what people Remember and...
Return on Employees… Social Media Empowers Your Employees
Who knows your business as well (if not better) than you do? The people who work in your business, of course! And I’m not talking about a sales staff. I’m talking about your nuts-and-bolts employees who know the everyday ins and outs, whether they work with your...
Four Ways to Create Trust… the Key to Commerce
There’s no faking it, our customers and prospects have finely tuned antennae when it comes to spotting our intent. There’s a part of the brain known as the amygdala that does a better job of sensing danger (and sincerity) than the reasoning part. It creates our...
My @LeesaSleep Mattress is Here, SO COOL… Check Out the Video
Thanks for the mattress Leesa Team. Loving Leesa's Sapira by Leesa experience so far... ordering, delivery, set-up is a snap. AND watching the mattress come to "life" is so cool... "watch the video." *Have been sleeping on it for over a week now... VERY happy!* Loving...
Independence Day… Declare Yours!
The thought of Independence Day brings to mind the political environment, economic challenges we have been experiencing for the past few years... as well as personal family challenges for me. Many of us go through our lives, day to day, thinking that our only recourse...
Creating the Right Mindset to Achieve Your Goals
Sometimes we get in our own way when we’re trying to achieve our goals. We lose sight of what’s important, or concentrate on the wrong things and wonder why we’re spinning our wheels. The truth is, in order to achieve anything in this life, you have to plan it out,...
How Small Business Can Improve Their Digital and Social Presence
A conversation with Magnificent Marketing's David Reimherr... David Reimherr: Ted, to dig in, what do you feel is the first thing a small business should do before they start their digital and social strategy? Ted Rubin: The first thing a small business should do is...
Empower Your Employees to Look Beyond the Rules
When you think of the worst customer experiences you have had, does travel leap to mind? Some lost baggage here, a delayed flight there, a reservation snafu, and all of a sudden you're dealing with customer service reps who have absolutely no power to solve your...
A Father’s Day Message to My Girls
I don’t get to celebrate Father’s Day in the traditional way as a Dad, so I cherish my daughters from afar, am thankful for their happiness, intelligence, health, and beauty (inside and out), and think about them with love. A few words I'd like to share with them as...
When Setting Goals, Give Yourself a Break
You might know me as a positive guy if you have read, listened to, or watched my stuff over the years. I strive to be that way, especially when I'm interacting with others, but it's never been an automatic thing for me when evaluating myself. In my younger days –...
“Moments” Marketing
Marketers love re-targeting, and it's a pretty natural, if misguided, instinct. This person bought something, or looked at something, they seemed happy enough about buying it, so let's not let the party end without getting them to buy even more. We all experience it...
The New Rules of (Social Media) Engagement… Ted Rubin and @NetBase ~via @Brand_Innovator
The New Rules of (Social Media) Engagement. Exploring how servicing customers on social media yields new actionable data. Join us as we speak with Ted Rubin, social marketing strategist and highly-acclaimed speaker on brands and social, acting CMO of Brand Innovators,...
What’s Your Sales Edge?
Today’s knowledge-hungry consumers often know as much about a product as the people trying to sell it. So what’s your sales edge? "Learning to build stronger relationships with your clients." I was reading some great information recently on social selling and how...
The Key is Harnessing the Power of Social Influence in a Compelling Way…
The key is harnessing the power of social influence in a compelling way that connects authentic story-telling with brand and product interaction. This is a radical departure from the current media and eCommerce environment as consumers seek information when and where...
What is Return on Relationship, ROR (#RonR)?
Return on Relationship, ROR (#RonR)… simply put the value that is accrued by a person or brand due to nurturing a relationship. ROI is simple $’s and cents. ROR is the value (both perceived and real) that will accrue over time through connection, loyalty,...
Provide Content That Serves You AND Them…
In addition to social training, grooming social advocates within your company also requires that they have access to content. Naturally, you’ll be publishing content that’s brand related for them to share. However, don’t make it a one-way street. Also publish (or...
Winning in Service Markets, Winning in Every Market…
Winning in Service Markets, winning in every market... is all about customer experience. Marketing/Communications/Customer Service are all interconnected, and in order to deliver an OmniChannel experience Externally, you must create an OmniChannel culture Internally!...
Frequency Isn’t a Bad Thing… Quite the Opposite
Social reach and frequency are tangential to good marketing, as long as your content is relevant to your market. How many times does a potential customer or partner need to see your message before they convert? You might as well ask how many licks it takes to get to...
Customer Experience and Social Influence
We are social animals. What others do does have some influence on us one way or the other. When we listen to someone because the person doing the talking is someone we trust—that’s where social influence starts. We’ll even buy a product based on the fact that others...
STORY IS IMPORTANT…
STORY IS IMPORTANT... Remember the power of storytelling, and use it in your communications. People can’t resist a good story. It’s an emotional connection bridge that is built into our human DNA. Social enhances it by allowing more followers/consumers to share more...
Influencer Marketing… Are you Making this Mistake?
The biggest mistake brands make when trying to engage influencers is not first trying to understand who they are and what they stand for. They think it is all about the money, and simply the number and reach. I write a lot about Looking People in the Eye Digitally......